1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bed having a base, a mattress, and a system for moving the mattress up and down to help a person to make the bed, which can be preferably adapted in a guest room of hotels or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Making the bed is one of the routine jobs for a person in charge of fixing the guest rooms in the hotels, in which the person spreads bed-clothes such as sheets and blankets over the mattress and lifts the mattress with one hand to put the corners of the bed-clothes under the mattress. The person must repeat these steps over and over within a little time to make a lot of beds. Therefore a system for helping the person for making the bed has been needed.
FIG. 14 shows one of the conventional bed having the helping system disclosed in a document of Japanese patent application (TOKKAI-HEI-3-207308). This bed 1 comprises a base 2, a mattress 3, and an inflatable body 4 provided between the base 2 and the mattress 3. As shown in the figure, the inflatable body 4 is a square-shaped elastic bag which can be connected with an air supplying means 6 through tubes 5, 7 and a valve 8. These tubes 5, 7 form a passage of compressed air-flow from the air-supplying means 6, while the valve 8 provided between the above tubes 5, 7 is responsible to block or permit the air-flow to the inflatable body 4.
Generally, the air supplying means 6 is an air-supply tube connected to an air compressor, a gas cylinder or the like for supplying a large amount of compressed air to the inflatable body 4. In the figure, however, only one end of the air-supply tube is shown.
The above conventional system is used as follows:
(i) firstly, connecting one end of the air-supplying tube 7 with the air-supplying means 6, and also connecting the other end of the air-supplying tube 7 with the air-introducing tube 5 of the inflatable body 4 through the valve 8 to introduce the compressed air into the body 4; PA0 opening the valve 8 to allow the compressed air to the inflatable body 4; PA0 filling the inflatable body 4 with a supply of the compressed air for lifting the mattress to make a space between the base 2 and the mattress 3; PA0 closing the valve 8 to stop the compressed air flow to the inflatable body 4 and simultaneously to avoid an out flow of the air therefrom; PA0 putting the corners of the bed-clothes 9 spread over the mattress 3 under the mattress 3; and PA0 opening the valve 8 to release the air from the inflatable body 4 to move down the mattress 3, resulting that the corners of the bed-clothes 9 are placed between the mattress 3 and the base 2.
In this way, the above system helps the person who makes the bed.
As described above, however, the conventional system requires a large amount of compressed air from the air-supplying means 6 connected to the air compressor or the like to fill the inflatable body 4. Thus it is difficult to provide the hotel with air-supplying means to supply the compressed air to each guest room when the installation of the above conventional system is demanded.